St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-05-15

dustry dates its beginning in Northern
Montana from 1850.
HORSES.
The raising, of horses is becoming a
leading industry in Montana, and in this
section is given much prominence.
Three or four years ago an exclusive
horse ranch would have been hard to
find, but now they are plenty and in
creaSing in numbers. The finest of inn
ported Sires are being brought in, and it
will not be long until the bunch-graSs
horse of Montana, in all the classes, will
be as famous as those of the bluegrass
region of Kentucky.
AGRICULTURE.
Last year 80, l64 acres of improved land,
valued at S2St, 40. were assessed in this
county, showing that the farmer is get
ting somewhat of a foothold. The soil
is rich i'll the extreme and the produc-
ton of all grains and vegetables is some
thing wonderful. Stock ranching is the
most successful method, i. e., farming
i'll connection with the raising of stock,
whether few head or many.
AN IMPROBABLE POSITION.
Thus situated in the center of a region
of great and varied resources, at the
strongest point in the new Northwest
the head of eavigatiOn on the Missouri
river, the largest east and west water
way i'll the country-and with the fOun-
dationS of commercial greatness we'll
laid, who can doubt the future of Fort
Benton? Its natural position, at the
head navigablc waters of the Missouri,
is guarantee of cheap rates of trans
portation. and this is the basis Oh which
great trade centerS are builded.
RAILROADS.
The Manitoba railroad, as is well
known to the readers of the GLOBE, is
headed for Montana and pushing across
the prairieS at wonderful rate of
speed. Fort Benton is on the line, and
this will be the first town reached after
the immense Indian reservation is
croSSed-the first town in Montana to be
benefited by the advance of the iron
horse, whose advent means new era
for this town and section. And other
Pacific has commenced work Oh the
Helena IL Northern, headed for Fort
Benton, and the Union Pacific is look
ing this way. The capital is ready for
the construction of branch to the Can
adam Pacific as soon as the necessary
charters can be secured, and lines of
railroad to the coal fields and neighbOr-
ing mining districts will follow in due
time. The railroad era in Northern
Montana is at its very beginning, and
all ''SignS of the times" point to Fort
Benton as the railroad center of the ter
ritory.
AN INTERVIEW.
In this connection the following from
the River Press Of to-day MAY y, being
an interview with prominent citizen,
may be of interest:
The MarySville branch from Helena
is simply the beginning of the line to
Benton. | am informed that the grade
of the former line has been changed to
admit of the road being constructed
down the canyon, and | look for work
on this extension to be in full blast the
present season."
Would it not be better for the North
ern Pacific, and for Benton as well, if
this branch line was b uiit from Billings
or some point in that vicinity?" inquired
the scribe.
considering the programme, l think
the head and front of all n. p. enter
prises in Montana, and all roads that he
has anything to do with must lead to
Helena. The coal and coke Of Northern
Montana are wanted for the mining
country, and could not proiitably be
hauled around by Billings; on the other
hand, the stock and other shipments OF
this section are wanted by the Northern
Pacific, and they can not well be sent
around by Helena. So, to secure fair
share Of each, the loop will be COM
pleted. After building to Benton from
Helena the line will be continued by
way of the Judith to Billings, with
branches sent out to the mining camps
and other sections that will warrant it.
l am confident this is the programme,
and you will see that it could not very
well be arranged to suit Fort Benton
better. The Northern Pacific people
recognize fully the Importance of Ben
ton 5 position Oh the river, and are go
ing to aid it in attaining quickly that
commercial supremacy warranted by
its location"
The gentleman was quite enthusiastic
Oh the subject, and said that apart from
this second railroad opposition our
town is certain to have q substantial
boom this season, when the Manitoba
pushes westward little farther.
A CITY OF DESTINY.
The strong point in favor of Fort Ben
ton is its position on the Missouri river
at the head of navigation on that stream.
st. Paul owes its greatness To a similar
position, and there is not a town in the
world thus located on an important nav
igable stream that has not attained high
rank. Up to this time Fort Benton has
been cut off from railroads, and in con-
sequence the resources of its SurfuuEd-
ing territory have been comparatively
slow of development. The river will
give it low rates of transportation, and
the railroads facilities for distributing
goods, so that it is absolutely certain to
achieve distinction commercially.
Should the interstate commerce law
continue III force it will work to the de-
cided advantage OF Fort Benton, as its
great waterway is sure protective from
eXorbitant tariffs. From any point OF
view ''city of destiny" is the plain read
ing